ZOE Science & Nutrition
ZOE Science & Nutrition
ZOE
Episodes
About
Reviews
Charts
Promote
How to beat heart disease: 8 habits you must fix | Dr. Nour Makarem
47 minutes Posted Aug 28, 2025 at 11:06 am.
What is heart health?
Can poor sleep make you age faster?
What is heart disease?
Why high blood pressure is called the ‘silent killer’
Heart disease is the leading cause of death, but it’s highly preventable
How good lifestyle choices can add an extra decade of healthy life
Good heart health can make you biologically 6 years younger
The 6 pillars of good sleep you’ve never heard of
The shocking sleep habit that can double your risk of heart disease
How much can your sleep schedule vary before it becomes a risk?
Why how you feel about your sleep is a key health metric
The surprising link between not sleeping enough and gaining weight
Are sleep tracking devices actually helpful?
It's never too late to improve your heart health, even with bad genes
The best time to eat breakfast for a healthier heart
The American Heart Association's 8 essential habits for a healthy heart
The recommended amount of exercise you need per week
Is vaping a risk for your heart?
The growing health crisis almost 40% of people are facing
Cholesterol isn't the only number that predicts your heart attack risk
Why sleeping in is also bad for your heart health
Avoid these stimulants before bed for better quality sleep
The single most surprising risk factor for your heart
0:00
47:54
Download MP3
Show notes
Heart disease is the world’s biggest killer—and it often strikes without warning. It’s responsible for around 1 in 5 deaths in the US. While these figures are deeply worrying, heart disease is not inevitable. 
Decades of research have unearthed many of the risk factors associated with heart health, like poor diet or a sedentary lifestyle. In this episode, Dr. Nour Makarem outlines the latest scientific discoveries in this field and unveils some less-familiar risk factors. Drawing from large-scale population data and the latest wearable tech, she uncovers what makes heart disease so hard to spot, and what we can do today to prevent it. 
Nour is a cardiovascular epidemiologist at Columbia University, whose research focuses on how our behaviors—like sleep, stress, and daily rhythms—impact heart disease risk. Her research has helped shape the American Heart Association’s Essential Eight guide to heart health.
Unwrap the truth about your food 👉 ⁠Get the ZOE app 
🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily 30+
*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system
Follow ZOE on Instagram.
Timecodes
📚Books by our ZOE Scientists
The Food For Life Cookbook
Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati
Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector
Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector
Free resources from ZOE
Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition
Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks 
Better Breakfast Guide
Mentioned in today's episode
Redefining Cardiovascular Health to Include Sleep: Prospective Associations With Cardiovascular Disease in the MESA Sleep Study.
Multidimensional Sleep Health Is Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Prevalence and Cardiometabolic Health in US Adults.
Variability in Daily Eating Patterns and Eating Jetlag Are Associated With Worsened Cardiometabolic Risk Profiles in the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Strategically Focused Research Network
Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.
Episode transcripts are available here.
This podcast uses Megaphone for stats, tracking, and dynamic audio, Podsights for stats, and tracking. Learn more on this podcast's About tab. Dynamic Audio may cause this episode's timestamps to be slightly off.
← See all 303 episodes of ZOE Science & Nutrition